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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

most interactive/interesting fish?

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14 Sep 2009 00:47 #1 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
hi all

fresh off the back of getting my dwarf puffers,
i was wondering what people consider the most interesting fish to keep? (freshwater)

the dp's are the coolest things ever,
compared to my previous and current fish
(hengeli rasboras and tetras)

i am enjoying my dp's so much that
i am considering changing my 22 rasboras
for something more engaging

the rasboras were bought for an iwagumi style
3' planted co2 tank, but the tank is breaking my heart
with algae issues and i am considering a low light setup for it
(i have put 10 months hard graft into it and the results,
spectacular as they were for a few weeks, are not worth the constant upkeep)

regards

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14 Sep 2009 08:03 #2 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re:most interactive/interesting fish?
You won't get much more engaging than puffers though you can only really appreciate it with the larger species.

I have a puffer that's not far off a foot long & she is really interactive.

I also have a trigger fish which is slowly becoming quite interactive.

I find African cichlids interactive in that they hand feed but there is no sense of personality from them.

Actually thinking about it - prob the most interactive critter I have is my cleaner shrimp - he waits til I put my hand in the tank & then hops on & starts cleaning me !!

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15 Sep 2009 13:13 #3 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
cheers 2poc

not mad on cichlid setups
im all into the planted tanks

Bear in mind that all i have ever had
is tetras and rasboras,

there must be a few more intersting fish
for a 3' planted tank than them

any more suggestions, killis? rams?
i really dont know much about fish,
I know more about plants than the actual fish!

rgds

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15 Sep 2009 16:15 #4 by pkearney (Phil Kearney)
you might consider a tank with rainbow fish or barbs. either are all action interesting set ups.
phil

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20 Sep 2009 21:18 #5 by inkspot (j ryan)
I have some zebra loaches (Botia Striata) that are great fun and good for planted tanks, their favourite food is snails! I only have five at the moment, I think they are good in as big a group as possible, with some dither fish.

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20 Sep 2009 21:54 #6 by reefpaddy (paddy kelly)
as you now know pygmys are the buisness and as said before the larger species are even more engaging going as far as spitting water at you if you ignore them although can be a little hard to look after.
paddy

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20 Sep 2009 22:38 #7 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
cheers all


paddy, my puffers are in a 54l

my only other tank is a 100l
so no room for any other puffers varieties i reckon!

i was expecting a big response to my question
with people championing their fave fish
but apparently most fish are boring!!! ;)

rgds

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20 Sep 2009 22:51 #8 by reefpaddy (paddy kelly)
i bet they greet you every time you walk near your tank, how are they feeding for you, unlike platty i could only get mine to eat blood worms.
and i agree most fresh arent very interactive, im afraid to say boring:laugh: as i wud fall out with a lot of people, i have a feeling you will end up with a marine tank somewhere down the line;) there are a lot more fish i could recomend in the marine fish list. triggers, lionfish,eels to name just a few, i will convert you:P
although i did keep oscars about ten years ago and they were quite interactive.

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21 Sep 2009 13:04 #9 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
cheers paddy

not sure about going salty
too much hard work and fairly pricey i imagine!

my puffs will eat live and frozen bloodworm,
and love the tiny ramshorns i have all over my other tank

I got a grindal worm culture today so
if that goes okay i will feed them those as well

rgds

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21 Sep 2009 20:34 #10 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
not to hijack the thread or anything ... but where did you get your hands on live bloodworms four ???

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21 Sep 2009 22:19 #11 by Alan86 (Alan86)
Glad to hear so many other peole appreciate Puffers too! I Agree compleatly, Iv had a Green Spotted puffer living on his own in a 60L tank for a couple years nearly. Goes by the name Manny!nHes really become the family pet! He watches TV, Dances to music (loves Motely Crue!), plays games with you!...It wouldnt suprise me if hes tried online dating!.. Feed him clams (when i can get them!), chicken, bloodworm, any remains of other livefoods when feeding the other tanks. Iv heard of people feeding garden worms too, some leaving the worms dig in a paste made from fish flakes for a while beforehand so that the nutriants in the flakes are also taken in by the fish!..aint tried this myself though!
Iv started getting Africans of late too nd im their pretty entertining!...But for the min Mannys the best fish i could ask for!...

Puffers!...Mans next best friend!

Alan

The money was just resting in my Account!

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21 Sep 2009 22:23 #12 by reefpaddy (paddy kelly)
sounds like a cracking fish i wud love to see him sometime. how big is he

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21 Sep 2009 22:32 #13 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
Alan86 wrote:

Dances to music (loves Motely Crue!),


ooops, my puffs wont listen to motley crue!!! :ohmy: :ohmy: ;) ;) :laugh:

the live bloodworms are an extra bonus
in my mozzie larvae buckets in the garden

cheers

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22 Sep 2009 17:55 #14 by Alan86 (Alan86)
As Requested!...Manny!



I think this photo won the photo comp here a while back, got an Ozone generator for it me thinks!...
Hes Only about 3inches atm, pretty fat tho...

Would love to see some shots other others puffers too if yas got any!

The money was just resting in my Account!

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